The hospitality industry is always changing, and it can be tough to keep up with the latest trends. Whether you’re a hotelier, restaurateur, or caterer, it’s important to stay ahead of the curve to ensure your business is successful.
It is unknown how many hotels and hotel rooms exist in the world. The STR estimates that there are 17.5 million guestrooms in 187,000 hotels globally, but no one knows the exact numbers. Here are some of the top hospitality industry trends to look out for in the next five years.
Technology is King
Over the past decade, we’ve seen technology significantly change the hospitality industry—and it’s not slowing down. A big part of this is because of innovations in mobile technology. Smartphones and other mobile devices are changing how guests communicate with your company and how they engage with each other.
For example, mobile apps have become a popular way for guests to find information about their hotel, book a room, and access services such as Internet and room service. Nowadays, guests are often booking directly from their smartphones which can be great for your business if you’re able to capture the lead but challenging if you’re unable to fulfill the request due to capacity issues. Over 4 million hotel rooms are available in the global hotel business.
Customization is in Decline
It’s one thing to create a restaurant or hotel with specific amenities for each guest; it’s another to have a customized product for every guest. Since most guests are not all the same, you’re likely beating your head against the wall trying to create something that works for everyone.
And although retention has long been a part of the hospitality industry, what people really want from hotels is the ability to customize their stay in ways they never thought possible before.
Retail is Important in the Hospitality Industry
With the hospitality industry growing at only a relatively slow pace (compared to technology, education, and health industries), it seems everything is more about retail these days—especially for hotels.
For example, in-room shopping has been one of the largest trends in hotels over the past few years. This allows guests easy access to their belongings from anywhere on earth, and it’s especially popular among those who are traveling for business.
Hilton remains the world’s most valuable hospitality brand, with its value up by an impressive 35% despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bars and lounges have always been a part of the hospitality industry, but they’re now more important than ever. Hotel bars and lounges are now more than just places to drink—they’re places to socialize, relax, and have fun.
Hoteliers are increasingly looking for ways to improve their guests’ experiences in these places, from making them more comfortable (through furniture or amenities) to making them part of the hotel’s overall experience.
Over the past couple of years, bars and lounges have also become much better at helping guests explore different cities—hotels now use maps and other technology to give visitors new shopping options during their stay.
Travel and Hospitality Businesses
As the travel and hospitality businesses continue to grow, so do the hotel industry trends. One of the future hospitality trends in the industry is the rise in the popularity of vacation rentals. Vacation rentals are a great way to save money on your hotel room while still enjoying all of the amenities that a hotel has to offer.
Asia accounted for more than 30% of the worldwide $1 trillion business travel sector in 2016.
Hospitality businesses are always looking for the latest trends to stay ahead of the competition. One of the latest hotel trends is direct bookings. This is where guests book their stay directly with the hotel, rather than using a third-party booking site. This can be a great way for hotels to increase their business.
As the travel industry continues to grow, so do the expectations of guests. Augmented reality is one of the latest trends in hospitality that is sure to provide an enhanced experience for guests.
This technology has the potential to revolutionize the way guests interact with their surroundings. By providing information about the local area and attractions, augmented reality can help guests make the most of their stay. Industry experts believe that this trend will continue to grow in popularity, as more and more hotels look to adopt it.
Hospitality Trends Prominence of Wellness Travel
Wellness travel is growing at a rapid rate, and it’s set to become even more crucial for hospitality brands. The reasons for this are diverse, but wellness travel is all about the continual search for better health—and with that in mind, companies need to be making sure their guests will be happy with their conditions. In addition, wellness travel is about treating the body and mind at the same time.
That’s why some of the more forward-thinking are developing resort-style hotels that pay more attention to their guest’s physical needs—features such as swimming pools and gyms are only part of it.
Technology is also a huge aspect of wellness travel, as we can see with wearable technology like Fitbits or even virtual technology like video games. A few brands that may be ahead of their time in this space include Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Four Seasons
7 Hospitality Trends Related to Marketing
Owners of your local hotels and restaurants might be interested in just how many of these other trends will affect them over the next five years. 81% of travellers want hotel brands to provide better digital customer service.
Here are seven hospitality industry trends related to marketing that you should know about.
1. The Rise of the Digital Experience
The concept of the digital experience is changing how guests interact with their hotels and restaurants. For example, technology is creating an experiential layer on top of the physical one—think voice-activated speakers or self-checkout kiosks in hotel rooms that give guests a more personalized experience than ever before. This is good for you as a hospitality marketer because it makes your guests’ experiences more personalized, which means they’re more likely to come back.
2. Use Social Media for Better Engagement
Integrating social media into your website with features such as social-share buttons and integration with reviews helps put your hotel or restaurant in front of a larger number of eyes—potential customers.
Plus, the use of social media has been heavily integrated into the lifestyle of millennials (people born between the mid-1980s and early 1990s), which means any successful business will have to have a social-friendly platform they can leverage to connect with this demographic.
3. Use Mobile to Enhance Guest Experiences
Mobile has become a prominent element of being a successful hospitality brand. For example, hotels have been able to use technology and mobile apps to provide guests with information about their hotel and make room reservations. In addition, hotels have been able to more easily provide information about guests’ arrival and departure times through apps such as Uber or Lyft.
4. Develop Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs integrate not only with technology but also with fashion, which is why it’s important for any successful hospitality brand to develop a custom program that reflects the brand’s latest trends. Fo
r example, if your brand focuses on offering service to business travelers in large cities, you can develop a rewards program that gives your most frequent guests extra benefits when they stay at your properties during their trips—a perk that’s likely to bring in new business.
5. Leverage Social Media to Automate Customer Service
Many metrics show that customer service is an important part of the hospitality industry these days. Needless to say, it’s vital for a hospitality brand to manage the relationship between its customers and those who work for them.
In short, social media can help with this issue because it makes it possible for your staff to engage with their clients through social-media conversations. In addition, brands can use social media to automate customer service in a way that’s more efficient and rewarding for both parties.
5 Hospitality Trends That Will Dominate The Future of Your Hotel
The hotel industry is booming and hotel rooms are in high demand. Hotel guests are increasingly demanding room service and smart rooms. The hotel industry is responding by investing in new technologies to provide a better experience for their guests.
Hospitality trends are a vital part of the hospitality industry, and they’re going to be around for years to come. Here are five hospitality trends that will dominate the future of your hotel.
1. Luxury Travel: More and More People Want Value for Money
Luxury travel is now a reality for many people with more money to spend than ever before, and this means there’s going to be an increase in luxury hotels opening up throughout the world. Whether it’s a small boutique or luxury hotel, there will be more options for people looking to stay in luxury accommodations when traveling internationally or even domestically.
2. Mobile Travel: It’s Going to Get Even Easier for Hotel Guests
The mobile revolution is approaching fast, and hospitality brands are ahead of the game on this trend because they’re using technology to help people book their rooms from their smartphones. As guests stay connected with their smartphones, swiping through pictures, reviews and other information about the hotel becomes faster and easier.
3. Personalized Experiences: Embrace Technology to Make Your Guest’s Trip Better Than Ever Before
The digital experience is now a key aspect of hospitality brands, and it’s changing how customers interact with hotels in a more personalized way than ever before. For example, with the help of software and technology, hotels can be made to look like real homes to guests. The use of technology can make booking a hotel as easy as booking a flight, and it closes the gap between what hospitality brands’ guests are looking for.
4. Social Media: Connect with Your Customers in Their Natural Habitats
Social media is always an essential part of any hospitality brand because it’s been used by other hotel brands to connect with their customers on a more personal level than ever before.
The latest and greatest social media platforms are constantly being updated by hospitality companies, which means they’re embracing social media more than ever before—and this is likely to increase the number of people who use social media in the future.
5. Online Booking: It’s Now Faster and Easier Than Ever Before
The use of technology in the hospitality industry is constantly improving, and as a result, the online booking process has become faster and easier than ever before. For example, hotels can now book rooms directly on their own websites without having to use an intermediary.
The digital nature of this new type of booking goes hand in hand with the growing use of mobile technology by customers, which means more people are staying connected at all times.
7 Hospitality Trends Related to Technology
Technology is an important part of hospitality brands, and it’s going to be around for years to come. Here are seven trends related to technology that you should keep an eye on in the future.
1. Artificial Intelligence: Its Impact on Hospitality Brand Trends Will Be Huge
Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has had a huge impact on hospitality industry trends in the last couple of years, and it’s only going to continue in the future. AI has been used by hospitality brands before, but its use will become even more important as AI continues to evolve at a rapid rate.
AI is being used by hospitality brands in many different ways—for example, it can help a hotel book a room or unlock the door for customers. AI is going to continue to become more and more important as time goes on, and as a result, its use will begin to change hospitality industry trends for years to come.
2. Cloud-Based Technology: It’s Going to Be The Norm in the Future
The cloud-based trend is likely going to dominate the hospitality industry in the future because it’s now the best way for companies with piles of data to store it all and easily share it with other businesses, too.
Cloud-based systems are now being used by hospitality companies to easily manage their information and make it easier for them to get the right data the first time. This makes cloud-based technology even more important in the future.
3. Digital Marketing: It’s Going to Rise Up In Importance Fast
Digital marketing is going to continue to become ever more important for hospitality brands as it has in the past few years, too. With digital marketing, hospitality brands can get their products in front of customers without paying outrageous costs when they’re trying to promote their products. Digital marketing is now the go-to technology for hospitality brands, and it’s going to become even more important in the future as it moves forward.
4. Video: It’s Now an Essential Part of Marketing for Hotel Brands
Video marketing is essential for hotel brands looking to get their products noticed and make them stand out from the crowd, too. The use of video has changed dramatically over time, with hotel brands now using it to promote their products directly to customers all over the world. Through video, hotels can easily advertise and show off their rooms, products, and services, which makes video a vital part of marketing for hotels in the future.
5. Data: It’s Important, But There Are Plenty of Complications Involved With Using It Too
Data privacy and data protection laws are going to become increasingly important as they have in the past few years, too. The hospitality industry has always been a lucrative space for businesses because of customers’ lack of concern about data collection, but that’s going to change in the future. As a result, it’s going to be more difficult for hospitality brands to collect data, which will make it harder for them to use the data they do have.
6. Voice Technology: It’s the Future, But it’s Going to Bring a Lot of Issues with It, Too
Voice technology is another trend that will be important for hospitality brands in the future. For example, voice technology has been used by hospitality brands before to help customers book rooms and get room information, but its use has become even more important than ever before.
Now, hotels can use voice technology to complete a variety of tasks for hotel guests—it can check them in, call a cab or check for nearby restaurants. Voice technology is going to continue to become more popular in the near future because it’s easier and more convenient for customers who want their voices to be heard.
7. Social Media: It’s the Best Way for Hospitality Companies to Build Their Brand
Social media is always an essential part of any hospitality brand because it’s been used by other hotel brands to connect with their customers on a more personal level than ever before.
The latest and greatest social media platforms are constantly being updated by hospitality companies, which means they’re embracing social media more than ever before—and this is likely to increase the number of people who use social media in the future.
Why is it Important to Keep up With the Latest Hospitality Trends
Hospitality trends are important to keep up with because they help you learn how other hospitality companies are approaching business. By learning more about the latest trends, you can better market to your clients.
Here are a few reasons why it’s important for hospitality brands to keep up with the latest hospitality trends:
1. Hospitality Trends Help Brands Stay Relevant
There’s no doubt that the hospitality industry is ever-changing, but it’s important for hospitality brands to stay up-to-date with the latest trends. How? By learning how to adapt and change with those changes.
If a company doesn’t know what other companies are doing, it could lose customers to them simply because it’s not as relevant as it once was. This is why staying current is so crucial for hospitality brands—they need to be relevant or they could risk becoming obsolete in a very short period of time. Hospitality trends can teach you how to stay relevant, and it will keep your brand name at the top of people’s minds when they think about you.
2. Hospitality Trends can Point Out Gaps in Your Service
Hospitality brands have to keep up with the latest trends because it helps them figure out what’s working and what’s not. For example, many hotels are moving toward “wellness” as a brand theme—and this means they’re focusing on creating a better experience for their guests through activities that help guests live healthier lifestyles.
The problem is, that this approach can create gaps in the service of their hotels—for example, they could need more pools or better spa treatments to make up for these changes. Of course, you can fix this problem by making changes to your service offerings, but it’s easier to find out what needs to change from trends reports.
3. Hospitality Trends can Help You Make Improvements to Your Brand
Part of staying relevant is constantly making improvements to your brand. This means you should always be on the lookout for new technologies that might improve the guest experience.
In addition, it’s important for hospitality brands to stay on top of tourism trends because they could suggest new ways that brands can better cater their services to travelers. By keeping an eye on these trends, hospitality brands will have an easier time developing a marketing strategy that will help their business grow while also creating a better experience for their guests.
Keeping up with the latest hospitality trends could make a major difference for your business. Why? Well, trends can show you how other companies have struggled and succeeded—and the lessons from their failures or successes could be exactly what your business needs.
By learning from others, you can improve your marketing strategy and make it easier to grow your business. With that in mind, it’s important to stay current on the latest trends so you can give yourself the best chance at gaining new customers and keeping them happy with your service offerings.
Future of Hospitality Industry Trends
The travel and tourism industry is one of the fastest expanding, accounting for more than 10% of global GDP.
As time goes on, there are going to be many new trends in the hospitality industry that have yet to appear, and that’s why it’s so important to keep an eye on everything that is coming up.
For example, companies may start using different technology to automate their processes and make them more efficient. The use of new technology is also going to change how hospitality brands target their customers; they’re likely going to focus more on offering personalized experiences rather than the same old thing everyone else has already seen.
The future of the hospitality industry varies depending on what kind of business you run, but you will always want your company to be relevant both now and in the future.
Last Updated on October 12, 2023 by Priyanshi Sharma
